Why Digital Safety Needs to Starts with What We Don’t SayWhy Digital Safety Needs to Starts with What We Don’t Say

It started, as these things often do, with good intentions.

One of the many Online Safety Educators that are popping up all over LinkedIn had seen something concerning online.

We need to keep front of mind that we live in an attention economy where concern is currency. Outrage fuels algorithms and even posts intended as red flags often guide users directly to the thing they were told to fear.

And not just kids. Adults too.

We’ve seen it again and again: a new AI companion app, chatbot, or face-swap tool gets named on LinkedIn, Facebook or in a school newsletter or parent forum. Downloads spike within hours. Not because people necessarily want to use it, but because they want to see. To test. To understand. Or they are just curious.

We think naming makes us safer. But in a culture trained to chase the source, we must remember that naming is marketing.

The predator in the room doesn’t need to hide anymore. It doesn’t wear a trench coat. It wears a brand and

has a logo. It has a website optimised for SEO and translated into multiple languages. It is ready for your curiosity.

And every time we post its name under the banner of protection, we raise its rank. We hand it our audience while we teach the world where to look.

So what’s the alternative?

Read more here